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Archive for financial planning – Page 7

2020 Year-end Financial Ideas

Posted by Frank McKinley on
 November 15, 2020

Convert Traditional to ROTH IRA money for TAX-FREE distribution in retirement AND to avoid RMDs – must be done by Dec. 31, NOT April 15 of next year. (May be subject to Federal, State and/or Local income tax.)

Fully fund ALL retirement accounts: 401Ks, 403bs, 457 plans, IRAs, SEPs and SIMPLES – Do you know the limits? If not PLEASE call me!

Are all your beneficiary designations in order? AND

Are all your Estate Plan documents in order? Call me for FREE templates.

Did you turn any of these ages in 2020?

AGEEligiblity
50You may be eligible to make ‘catch-up’ contributions to an IRA or employer plan.
55You may be eligible to take a distribution from your 401K without being subject to the 10% early distribution penalty.
59 1/2You may be eligible to take a penalty-free distribution from your IRA and company plan.
59 1/2And you may be able to take tax-free distributions from your ROTH assuming it has been open at least 5 years.
62You may apply for Social Security.
65You may apply for Medicare.
72Must begin taking RMDs from IRAs and company plans but not ROTHs

If you would like more information or to discuss your financial concerns

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Categories : financial planning, Financial Services
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Objectives Help Focus Investing

Posted by Frank McKinley on
 November 3, 2020

On a broad basis, there are a few main investment objectives to help you accomplish your goals. Understanding these objectives is important because certain investment strategies and products are appropriate for one type of goal but perhaps not for others. The following will provide an overview of the main investment objectives.

Goal: Capital Appreciation

Capital appreciation is an objective for achieving long-term growth. If saving for retirement is one of your objectives, the strategy to meet it would most likely be to invest in a qualified retirement plan where the investments work for many years.

This objective is not only limited to a qualified retirement plan; itcan also be about wealth building over many years. With a capital appreciation objective, you need to be confident that your portfolio is going to grow over time, and not concern yourself with day-to-day fluctuations. Watch for any changes with the companies you are investing in that could affect your long-term growth. And you should rebalance your portfolio if it strays from your asset allocation strategy.

Goal: Current Income

If your objective is to generate current income, you would most likely invest in stocks that pay a high dividend on a consistent basis, as well as highly rated bonds. People that pursue a current income stream may be retired and use the income for living expenses. Others may use this strategy to pay for certain needs, such as a college education, where they use the interest
to pay without touching the principal.

Goal: Capital Preservation

The objective is typically for those who want to make sure they don’t outlive their money. Security is extremely important even if that
means giving up return. To meet a capital preservation goal, the strategy would be to invest in bank certificates of deposit, U.S. Treasury
issues, savings accounts, and fixed income bonds, such as municipal bonds, other government bonds, and corporate bonds.

How to Set Your Own Goals

Most experts agree that goals- based investing is the best approach to reach investment goals. With this method, you set investment goals based on reaching specific life goals. You  consider each goal individually to set a time horizon and a risk level.

To help you determine your comfort with risk and time horizon, ask yourself these questions:

What is your intent for investing this money?

When would you like to withdraw your money?

Do you want your money to achieve substantial capital growth by the time you withdraw it or are you more interested in maintaining the principal?

What is the maximum decrease in the value of your portfolio that you are comfortable with?

Setting Your Goals

Once you have a better understanding of why you want to invest and what you are hoping to achieve, you want to be very specific when developing your goals. Your investment objectives are the foundation of your investment plan, so don’t take them lightly.

There are various methods for setting goals, but one of the best to consider is the SMART goals format, which will help guide you through the process of setting your investment objectives. Following are the elements of the SMART format:

Specific — make each goal specific and clear

Measurable — make sure you define goals that can be measured

Achievable — make sure it is realistic

Relevant — make sure the goals relate to your life

Time-based — assign a timeframe so that you can track your progress and know when it is achieved

After you have defined your goals, you will then want to determine a timeframe for each goal. You are not going to achieve all of your goals at once, so break them down by goal categories such as short, medium, and long term. You will then want to set a specific number of months/years in which you want to achieve each goal.

Once that is complete, the final step is to determine a dollar figure for each goal. Some goals will be easier than others to define a dollar amount. For longer-term goals, such as retirement, education, or starting a business, spend the time to research what each of these could cost.

Once you have your goals clearly defined in some type of format, it will make it much easier to develop an investment plan, as well as a budget that includes your savings goals.

Estate Planning Tips for Baby Boomers

These tips can help baby boomers get back on track with estate planning.

1. Know what your kids expect — and what you plan to give them. Even boomers who’ve saved a lot may end up spending much of what they’ve accumulated, since retirements are likely to be long and healthcare costs expensive. Active boomers may be planning on spending much of their hard-earned money on themselves. They believe they’ve done a lot for their children already. That’s fine, but if this is your plan, you may want to let your children know.

2. Have a plan for the end of your life. While taking steps to live a healthy lifestyle is important to enjoying a great retirement, boomers shouldn’t assume they’ll be healthy forever. Sickness and disability can happen, and it will be easier for you and your family to deal with if you have a plan. Not only should you think about long term-care and how you’ll pay for it, you should also make sure you have end-of-life planning documents in place.

3. Make sure your estate plan is up-to-date. As you get older, your estate planning needs  change. If your kids are independent

adults, providing for them is no longer as critical. You may have grandchildren who you want to receive part of your estate or new property that should be incorporated into your will. Or your family composition might have changed. Boomers need to sit down and review their estate plans to make sure they are properly conveying all their wishes.

4. Decide if, and how, you want to leave a legacy. If you count yourself among those for whom leaving a legacy is important, now is the time to start thinking seriously about how to turn those legacy dreams into reality. If your goals are ambitious — like starting a foundation or charity or endowing a scholarship — you should start
planning now. The more lofty your goals, the more important it is that you take clear, concrete steps to turn your dreams into reality — like meeting with the leaders of the organization you support and finding out how you can best help them. After all, you won’t be able to do this work after you are gone.

Not sure how to put these estate-planning tips into action?  Please call if you’d like to discuss this topic in more detail.

Frankly Speaking

How to be like Buffett – by buying life insurance, to provide financial protection for your loved ones. Coverage for family breadwinners has become especially important in 2020, during a deadly and highly
contagious disease. From MoneyWise, Oct. 6

In 1903 Edward Hale became the United States Senate chaplain. At one point he was asked, “Do you pray for the senators, Dr. Hale?” He replied, “No, I look at the senators and I pray for the country.”
“The distrust of wit is the beginning of tyranny.” -Edward Abbey

What’s most important to you right now? Employment, the economy, election, or ‘Rona’? We seem to be climbing the proverbial wall of worry daily, and the only thing changing is the incline of that wall- upwards!

If you or anyone you know needs an element of perspective, please call or contact me!

If you would like more information or to discuss your financial concerns

Click Here
Copyright © 2020. Some articles in this newsletter were prepared by Integrated Concepts, a separate, non-affiliated business entity. This newsletter intends to offer factual and up-to-date information on the subjects discussed but should not be regarded as a complete analysis of these subjects. Professional advisers should be consulted before implementing any options presented. No party assumes liability for any loss or damage resulting from errors or omissions or reliance on or use of this material.

Categories : Blog, financial planning, Investing

Think Positive. . .

Posted by Frank McKinley on
 October 31, 2020
2020-11-20-newsletter

 

Categories : financial planning, Financial Services, Newsletters

Estate Planning Considerations for Children

Posted by Frank McKinley on
 October 6, 2020

It takes special care to create an estate plan that efficiently distributes your assets and meets your goals for every person and cause important to you. But no part of the process means more to most people than that which involves their children. After all, for most of us, our children are our most important legacy, and how your estate documents treat them will have an impact long after you’re gone.

To help organize this process, it is useful to think of children in three categories: minors, young adults, and fully grown adults with spouses and children of their own.

Minor Children

Children from infancy through high school have a different set of needs than children of other ages. One is simply to be able to rely on an income for daily needs in case you’re no longer there for them.  Since the parents of young children usually don’t have large savings or net worth, the challenge is to provide an instant estate, for which life insurance is the best answer.

Family Estate Planning There are several rules of thumb for how much life insurance to buy — from four to 10 times your annual income. The right amount should be the result of a thorough needs analysis of your entire family, which can be accomplished by asking your spouse and yourself a series of probing questions, including:

How much do the two of you already have saved?

Will your spouse be able to work full- or part-time? If so, what will childcare cost?

Will your children go to public or private elementary and secondary schools?

How much will your children need in college funds by the time they’re ready to attend?

How much will your spousen eed for retirement, and how much of that will he/she be able to accumulate on his/her own?

After you determine how much life insurance to buy, you need to think about who will raise your children if you and your spouse both die before the children are adults. This calls for naming a guardian in both of your wills. If you don’t have a will, a state court will appoint a guardian for you, and it may not be someone you or your spouse would have wanted for this role. In addition, parents might also wish to designate a person to manage the children’s assets, known as a custodian or trustee. This can be the same person as the guardian, but designating an unrelated third party, like an attorney, banker, or trust company officer, who can be charged with thinking only of your children’s welfare,  appeals to some people.

Among the other major decisions you have to make is whether and how to split your assets among your surviving spouse and your children, and if you leave some assets directly to your children, how to determine the split among them.

Often, it can make sense to leave all or most of your assets to your spouse and to divide assets you bequeath to your children evenly. But this might overlook such considerations as children with special medical needs or special abilities.

Young Adults

Once children reach the age of majority — 18 in most states — a new set of considerations enters the picture. By this age, your children no longer  require a guardian and are legally capable of spending their money in any way they want — and therein lies a potential problem. What if you leave $250,000 for college, and instead, your children decide to waste the money and skip college?

One way to control how the inheritance is spent is to establish a trust with a  schedule for distributions. One option is to delay a full distribution until they reach a certain age, like 25 or 30. another choice is to give them a series of partial distributions over many years. Another increasingly popular strategy is the incentive trust. This vehicle makes payouts contingent on your child’s achievement of specific accomplishments — like maintaining a certain grade point average; graduating from college, graduate, or professional school; marrying; or buying a home.

Adult Children

Many of the same kinds of considerations that apply to minors and young adults can also influence your decisions regarding your adult
children. Do they, their spouses, or their children have special medical
needs? Have your adult children fallen on hard times or are they irresponsible with money? How many children do they have and how
much help will they need to finance their education?

Another consideration has as much to with your own objectives for minimizing estate taxes. If your estate is much larger than you and
your spouse’s combined estate tax exemptions (currently $11.58 million
for each spouse in 2020), you might want to shrink it with an aggressive campaign of gifts to your children and grandchildren. On the other hand, any funds you leave to your children might encumber them with estates equally as large as yours or larger, with the same tax challenges. In this case, you might want to transfer some of your assets to a generation-skipping trust, which bypasses your children and names your grandchildren as the beneficiaries.

Don’t go it alone when mulling over these decisions. Most importantly,
you need to reach a meeting of the minds with your spouse and even your children, especially if they are adults. One thing you don’t want to do is to create bad feelings after you’re gone, either toward you or among your survivors.

Frankly Speaking

“It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the most responsive to change.” – Charles Darwin

“Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly,
one by one.” – Charles MacKay

“Nothing sedates rationality like large doses of effortless
money.”– Warren Buffett

With markets bouncing around all-time highs recently, pending
elections and political unrest creating additional emotion and drama, one can only speculate where the indexes may be going. Yet when the market is high, so is risk. Will you accept more risk and ‘ride the tiger’, or consider a more rational approach toward fixed income or even guaranteed income accounts*?

*All guarantees and protections are subject to the claims-paying ability of the issuing company.

If you would like more information or to discuss your financial concerns

Click Here
Representatives are registered through, and securities are sold through Nationwide Planning Associates, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC, located at 115 West Century Road, Suite 360, Paramus, NJ 07652. Investment advisory services are offered through NPA Asset Management, LLC. Insurance sold through licensed NPA Insurance Agency, Inc. agents. Frank is registered in NJ, NY, PA, FL, CT, CO, NC, OH and RI. He is also licensed for life and health insurance in NJ, NY, FL, OH and RI. The presence of this web site on the Internet shall in no direct or indirect way be construed or interpreted as a solicitation to sell advisory services to residents of any state other than those listed above and shall not be deemed to be a solicitation of advisory clients living in any state other than those listed above. Nationwide Planning Associates, Inc. and Frankly Financial are non-affiliated entities.
Copyright © 2020. Some articles in this newsletter were prepared by Integrated Concepts, a separate, non-affiliated business entity. This newsletter intends to offer factual and up-to-date information on the subjects discussed but should not be regarded as a complete analysis of these subjects. Professional advisers should be consulted before implementing any options presented. No party assumes liability for any loss or damage resulting from errors or omissions or reliance on or use of this material.

Categories : estate planning, financial planning, Financial Services

4 Steps to Boost Financial Confidence

Posted by Frank McKinley on
 August 31, 2020

Below are four simple suggestions that can help you increase your financial confidence.

1. Get organized. Not too long ago, it didn’t take much work to organize your finances. Unless you were very wealthy, money matters were fairly
straightforward. You could easily store all your financial information in a single accordion file. Today, things are more complicated. Credit cards, home equity lines of credit, student loans,
401(k)s and IRAs, 529 plans for college
expenses — the list of information to keep track of seems endless. There are numerous strategies for getting organized. Some people stick with that old-fashioned accordion file. Others go completely digital. Whatever solution you choose, you need to know all the details of your finances.

2. Get educated. Simply taking the time to learn more about finances and managing your money can do wonders for how you feel about your life. Basic financial literary isn’t really covered in
most school curricula, so many otherwise savvy adults are clueless in this area. Many community colleges, churches, and nonprofit groups offer classes, or you can sign up for a class online. If you don’t want to go back to school, consider
watching videos or reading articles that review financial concepts.

3. Get a financial plan. Setting goals and making meaningful progress toward those goals will do wonders for your financial self-esteem. In fact, people who engage in financial planning are more
likely to report they live comfortably and are on track to meet their financial goals. A financial plan brings together all the threads of your financial life. Having a solid plan in place that covers everything from preparing for emergencies to planning for retirement is key to boosting your financial confidence.

4. Get help. Getting reliable advice from an outside expert can do wonders for your financial confidence. Just like a doctor supports and guides you in making decisions about your health, a financial advisor is there to make sure you’re
sticking to your financial plan. There are many decisions that are difficult to make on your own, from deciding how much to save for retirement to choosing investments for your portfolio. If you’re
unsure about what to do next, please call.

Consider Maturity Dates

Bonds can be purchased with maturity dates ranging from several weeks to several decades. Before deciding on a maturity date, review how that date affects investment risk and your ability to pursue your goals.

Interest rates and bond prices move in opposite directions. A bond’s price rises when interest rates fall and declines when interest rates rise. The existing bond’s price must change to provide the same yield to maturity as an equivalent, newly issued bond with prevailing interest rates.

Bonds with longer maturities are more significantly affected by interest rate changes. Since long-term bonds have a longer stream of interest payments that don’t match current interest rates, the bond’s price must change more to compensate for the rate change.  Although you can’t control interest rate changes, you can limit the effects of those changes by selecting bonds with maturity dates close to when you need your principal.

In many cases, you may not know exactly when that will be, but you should at least know whether
you are investing for the short, intermediate, or long term.

Financial Thoughts

About 69% of Americans say they are concerned about cybersecurity in the wider adoption of technology. Yet, 78% of Americans agree that the widespread adoption of technology within financial services is a positive development (Source: Personal Capital, 2019).

Approximately 80% of adults over age 50 want to remain in their current home as they age, but only 50% expect that they will be able to do so (Source: Barron’s, June 3, 2019).

About 40% of families believe they are paying the right price for college costs (Source: Sallie Mae, 2019).

About 51% of Americans expect to inherit money from older family members. Of that group, 25% believe the inheritance will largely or entirely fund their retirements (Source: WealthManagement.com, June 2019).

About 20% of baby boomers, 36% of gen-xers, 32% of millennials, and 63% of generation z (ages 18 to 22) expect an inheritance from older family members
(Source: WealthManagement.com, June 2019).

Almost 92% of United States taxpayers e-filed their returns in 2019 (Source: eFile.com, 2019).

If you would like more information or to discuss your financial concerns

Click Here
Representatives are registered through, and securities are sold through Nationwide Planning Associates, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC, located at 115 West Century Road, Suite 360, Paramus, NJ 07652. Investment advisory services are offered through NPA Asset Management, LLC. Insurance sold through licensed NPA Insurance Agency, Inc. agents. Frank is registered in NJ, NY, PA, FL, CT, CO, NC, OH and RI. He is also licensed for life and health insurance in NJ, NY, FL, OH and RI. The presence of this web site on the Internet shall in no direct or indirect way be construed or interpreted as a solicitation to sell advisory services to residents of any state other than those listed above and shall not be deemed to be a solicitation of advisory clients living in any state other than those listed above. Nationwide Planning Associates, Inc. and Frankly Financial are non-affiliated entities.
Copyright © 2020. Some articles in this newsletter were prepared by Integrated Concepts, a separate, non-affiliated business entity. This newsletter intends to offer factual and up-to-date information on the subjects discussed but should not be regarded as a complete analysis of these subjects. Professional advisers should be consulted before implementing any options presented. No party assumes liability for any loss or damage resulting from errors or omissions or reliance on or use of this material.

Categories : Blog, Bonds, financial planning, Financial Services

Will You Have Sufficient Funds for Your Entire Retirement

Posted by Frank McKinley on
 August 7, 2020

When you’re young, the idea of retirement is shrouded in idle thoughts of what you’ll do when you don’t have to work anymore. But while those fast approaching retirement may have a clearer view of what is to come, in some ways, they are just as unaware of what is really in store for them over the next few decades. Most of us don’t know how long we’re going to live, so making sure we have sufficient funds for our entire retirement is incredibly important.

How Much to Save?

While it’s thought you may only need as low as 70% of your current income per year in retirement, it is wise to assume that you will need closer to 100%. Think of all the things you enjoy doing now: traveling, hobbies, attending cultural events and sports games. All of these could be a vital part of an active and interesting retirement, but they also cost money. Make sure you have saved enough to be active and that your withdrawal rate is not so high that your resources could deplete early. While it’s always customizable, a good starting point is to withdraw 4% in the first year of your retirement, and continue to adjust for inflation down the road.

Cutting back on living expenses now will free resources for more contributions to your retirement and will give you an idea of how little you can live comfortably on. This will give you a better idea of how much you will really need in retirement. The most important expense to get rid of is payments on any debt. Your cost of living will be significantly reduced if you have paid off your mortgage and any outstanding consumer debt.

When forming a plan or determining if you are ready to retire now, err on the side of longevity when it comes to your lifespan. Add a few years to what is generally expected — plan on living until 85 or 90. It is a far better situation to have saved more than necessary than to run out of funds late in life. In the vein of further caution, it is a good idea to have an emergency fund outside of your retirement plan. A general rule is to have at least six months of living expenses tucked away just in case.

What about Housing?

In general, housing should take up about 25% of your gross pay or 35% of your take-home pay. If you own your own home and have paid off your mortgage, this shouldn’t be a difficult guideline — but remember that with a house comes additional, and often expensive, repair and maintenance costs. If you plan on staying in your home throughout your retirement, make sure the big stuff is in good working order or replaced while you are still drawing income. This
includes the roof, the foundation, siding, HVAC, sewer lines, and septic system, as well as an emergency fund in case of fire or water damage.

Your house will also need to be adapted for your needs as you age. You may need to consider selling a home that requires a lot of upkeep and downsizing to something more manageable. No one wants to face the reality of physical deterioration, but most people face mobility issues as they age and a one-story home is safer and easier to navigate.

Continuing Income Options

It may be tempting, but resist the urge to take early retirement. It is difficult enough to save enough money to live on in retirement if you are only retired for 20-25 years. Imagine if you retire at 55 years old and live for another 35 years. You will need funds to support yourself in retirement for longer than you were in the workforce. Every extra year you work is a year you don’t have to support yourself using your retirement savings. Once you’ve retired, it can be helpful for your savings and your wellbeing to work a casual, light job. Many retirees find themselves missing the comradery of the workplace and the continued income will allow for more spending money, vacations, and
greater security in your savings. You could put your experience to work for you as a part-time consultant in your
former field, or put in a few hours a week at the town museum.

Last but not least, consider longevity insurance. This is a type of deferred annuity that will continue to provide income well into your twilight years. People usually purchase it at around 65 years old, and the payout begins at 80 years.

Frankly Speaking

“In politics, stupidity is not a handicap.”
– Napoleon Bonaparte

“No man can think clearly when his fists are clenched.”
– George Jean Nathan

Regardless of the social injustices over the last 400 years in
our country, we cannot possibly rectify them all before November.
‘Defunding’ police, defacing monuments and disregarding
warnings about the virus will not help any cause and may lead
to avoidable death. Responsible citizens must accept ‘what is’
not what they might like ‘to be’ before the process of democracy
can correct the sins of the past.

“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and
your government when it deserves it.”
– Mark Twain

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from
extinction.”
– Ronald Reagan

Napoleon

If you would like more information or to discuss your financial concerns
please call 973-515-5184  or click the button below.

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Representatives are registered through, and securities are sold through Nationwide Planning Associates, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC, located at 115 West Century Road, Suite 360, Paramus, NJ 07652. Investment advisory services are offered through NPA Asset Management, LLC. Insurance sold through licensed NPA Insurance Agency, Inc. agents. Frank is registered in NJ, NY, PA, FL, CT, CO, NC, OH and RI. He is also licensed for life and health insurance in NJ, NY, FL, OH and RI. The presence of this web site on the Internet shall in no direct or indirect way be construed or interpreted as a solicitation to sell advisory services to residents of any state other than those listed above and shall not be deemed to be a solicitation of advisory clients living in any state other than those listed above. Nationwide Planning Associates, Inc. and Frankly Financial are non-affiliated entities.
Copyright © 2020. Some articles in this newsletter were prepared by Integrated Concepts, a separate, non-affiliated business entity. This newsletter intends to offer factual and up-to-date information on the subjects discussed but should not be regarded as a complete analysis of these subjects. Professional advisers should be consulted before implementing any options presented. No party assumes liability for any loss or damage resulting from errors or omissions or reliance on or use of this material.

Categories : Blog, financial planning, Financial Services, Retirement
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